A guide to the Royal Summer, 2014

This month marks the official start of the royal season, where The Queen and the Royal Family undertake a number of various ceremonial activities over the course of the summer months culminating in the ceremony of Trooping the Colour on Horse Guards Parade. Here’s Royal Central’s full guide to what’s going on and when this summer for the Royal Family.

18th MayGrenadier Guards Regimental Remembrance Day (Black Sunday) – the Grenadier Guards will take part in a ceremony starting and ending at Wellington Barracks. The regiment will march to Horse Guards Parade with bands and will lay wreathes at the Guards Memorial. Prince Philip, as the regiment’s colonel, is expected to be in attendance.

19th MayFirst guard mount from Horse Guards – where the Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace is extended to encompass a rehearsal for The Queen’s Birthday Parade from Horse Guards Parade. The ceremony can be viewed mostly from Horse Guards Parade and the guard which will form The Queen’s Guard will march down along with a band to the Palace to perform the guard change.

21st MaySecond guard mount from Horse Guards.

The first garden part of the year will be held at Buckingham Palace with The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family present.

23rd MayThird guard mount from HorseGuards.

28th MayThe Queen will present new standards to the Household Cavalry on Horse Guards Parade accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal as Colonel of the Blues & Royals. Afterwards, Her Majesty will host a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace for the Household Cavalry.

31st May The Major-General’s review of Trooping the Colour will take place. This is one of two full-scale rehearsals for The Queen’s Birthday Parade held on the two Saturday’s before the parade itself. The salute will be taken by Major-General Edward Smyth-Osborne CBE.

2nd June The 61st anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty The Queen. Will be marked with gun salutes across the country including 62-guns at the Tower of London at 1pm and 41-guns in Hyde Park at 12 noon.

3rd June The Queen will host the second Garden Party of the year at Buckingham Palace, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. Other members of the Royal Family in attendance include the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.

4th June The Queen accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh will attend the State Opening of Parliament and officially open the final session of this present Parliament before the next election. The state opening is one of the high points of the ceremonial year and will also be marked with gun salutes in Green Park and at the Tower of London.

The Royal Marines Beating Retreat will take place on Horse Guards Parade in the evening (6pm). The Duke of Edinburgh, as Captain General of the Royal Marines, will take the salute.

7th June The Colonel’s Review of Trooping the Colour will take place. The regimental colonel would ordinarily take the salute, though as the Grenadier Guards’ colonel is Prince Philip (who will be with The Queen on a State Visit to France at the time), Major General Sir George Norton (formerly Major General commanding the Household Division) will take the salute in place of His Royal Highness.

The Queen and members of the Royal Family will attend the Epsom Derby in Surrey.

10th June

The Queen will host the third (and final London) Garden Party at Buckingham Palace for 2014, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Kent and other members of the Royal Family.

The 93rd birthday of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. The occasion will be marked with gun salutes across the country including at 1pm at the Tower of London (62-guns) and 12 noon in Hyde Park (41-guns) and the national anthem played on BBC Radio 4 and 2 at 7am and 8am respectively.

11th and 12th June

The Household Division’s Beating Retreat will take place in the evening (8.30pm) on Horse Guards Parade. The Duke of Cambridge will take the salute at Horse Guards Parade on behalf of The Queen on 12th June.

14th June The Queen’s Birthday Parade, Trooping the Colour will take place on Horse Guards Parade at 10.30am in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and other members of the Royal Family. The ceremony, which will be broadcast on BBC television, will be followed by gun salutes in Green Park and across the country and a balcony appearance and flypast at 1pm. Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards are trooping their colour this year – the Duke of Edinburgh is the Colonel of the Regiment.

16th June The annual service for the Most Noble Order of the Garter will take place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle where The Queen, members of the Royal Family and knights and ladies of the Order of the Garter will attend a service, lunch and observe the investiture of new knights/ladies into the order in the Garter Throne Room of Windsor Castle.

Today also marks the start of Ascot week, The Queen will spend the week in residence at Windsor Castle and will attend Royal Ascot.

30th June The Queen will arrive in Scotland to begin what’s known as Holyrood Week, where Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh will take up residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse (The Queen’s official residence in Scotland) and perform a week of engagements in Scotland. Her Majesty will be received at the Palace with the Ceremony of the Keys where the Lord Provost of Edinburgh presents her with the keys to ‘her ancient and hereditary kingdom of Scotland’.

3rd July (presumed) The Queen and members of the Royal Family including the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Rothesay (Prince Charles), the Earl and Countess of Strathearn (Prince William and Catherine) and Princess Anne will attend the service for the Order of the Thistle at St Giles High Kirk in Edinburgh along with the members of the Order of the Thistle.

This is exactly the articles I was looking for!!! I am headed to the UK this summer, August 1-17, I chose those dates because i will be able to go into Buckingham Palace. The only bad thing is the Queen will be on holiday at Balmoral. I have just about every royal related places in London, and Edinburgh, but I would still love to go see a royal on some type of engagement. Any places i should visit or any way I would be able to possibly see the Queen would be great!! My email is nickfelds@aol.com if you have the time. Thanks!

About Royal Central

Royal Central is the Internet's most popular independent source for the latest royal news, photos and blogs on the British Monarchy and Royal Families around the world. From breaking global royal news to stories you may never have otherwise heard about, our team of writers ensure you'll never miss out on the latest royal news stories.